Weathering

[Repstock]

I carry my camera most of the time. I saw this guy in a friend's salvage yard, and had to build it.

[Dr. Cranky]

And Tom, you did a heck of a nice job on a subtle and very realistic weathering. Excellent.

[Dr. Cranky]

Dave, it's been one of my favorite articles in a magazine--the fact that two builders got together (through the mail) and build a model like this in collaboration. I wish more of us would do that more often.

Oh, and it was a two parter too!

[Scale-Master]

interesting............surface rust is something that i've wondered how to replicate in scale in a way that works where you get the fine texture and some of the factory paint color both. member here Scale-Master had an old truck that was covered in surface rust, it would be very cool to see someone copy the way that truck was rusted.

I have a model of that old beast that I started about 25 years ago. I sold it recently but still intend to finish the model, maybe now closer to the way it was when I bought it. I shelved the model due to how agressive the rust became. I'm comfortable doing a little surface rust, but it was way more than that. Flintstone mobile bad...

[Casey]

I carry my camera most of the time. I saw this guy in a friend's salvage yard, and had to build it.

Call me a nit-picker, but if you go through the trouble of creating bare or worn metal areas on certain parts of the model (the forks for instance), why not be consistent and do the same for other wear areas, such as the running boards and the step up to the cab area? Surely such a used machine would show wear and tear where the operator's boots rubbed the paint away after daily use, not to mention wear from hands grabbing the roof supports after repeatedly getting into the forklift.

As Dave mentioned earlier, the best weathering is that which goes (mostly) unnoticed, just like it does in real life, so kudos to those who can and do pull it off.

Edited February 12, 2012 by Casey

[Erik Smith]

I think this is one place the military modelers really stand apart from most car builders - and rightfully so, there are not really any needs for a new, show room tank or airplane. Car modelers can learn a tremendous amount from the other side of the hobby - I buy and read Fine Scale and other military oriented building mags and learn a lot about washes, etc.

Here is a simple example of an older build of mine that I tried to get a daily driver/used look to the engine. I think metal finishes look so much better with light washes - not only for realistic weathering, but for replicating scale shadow effects:

On chassis parts too, I have tried (with some limited effectiveness) to replicate what a car would look like if it is actually being used.

The tough thing though...have you ever looked at a daily driven car and tried to figure out what color the chassis was? It's like brown but black but gray....

[Erik Smith]

My one attempt at a real rusty car - but I think the chassis turned out closer to a used/daily driver:

Flat black, rust spots, and a final light dusting of flat tan. Still, it doesn't have a build up of gunk where gunk should be, etc..

Edited February 12, 2012 by Erik Smith

[Agent G]

I took the opportunity to walk through my old PD's fleet services department many times over the years. It was amazing looking up at the various cars while being serviced. Gray, mostly gray, a bit o' brown, some lube stains here and there, but NO rust. Exhaust systems never rusted as they were always hot. Run a car 24/7/365, give it a bath on a regular basis, and you will mostly never see rust. Yes I am well aware heat rusts metal, rust is really just fire slowed down 1000's of times, yet hardly ever was an exhaust system replaced on a car. I have seen exhaust manifolds warp, paint get a bit dull, and well extreme wear on the interior, but rust wasn't an issue. Pop the hood and you'll see the same as the undercarriage. "There's a motor in there?"

Sitting still is quite another matter for a midwestern auto.....................

Now here in the desert, faded paint, cracked rubber/plastic/vinyl, but NO RUST.

G

[Dr. Cranky]

I think this is one place the military modelers really stand apart from most car builders - and rightfully so, there are not really any needs for a new, show room tank or airplane. Car modelers can learn a tremendous amount from the other side of the hobby - I buy and read Fine Scale and other military oriented building mags and learn a lot about washes, etc.

Here is a simple example of an older build of mine that I tried to get a daily driver/used look to the engine. I think metal finishes look so much better with light washes - not only for realistic weathering, but for replicating scale shadow effects:

On chassis parts too, I have tried (with some limited effectiveness) to replicate what a car would look like if it is actually being used.

The tough thing though...have you ever looked at a daily driven car and tried to figure out what color the chassis was? It's like brown but black but gray....

Erik, I totally agree with you. Just by looking at some of the master military builders the likes of Mike Rinaldi, Mig Jimenez, Adam Wilder, Rob Ferreira, and a whole bunch of others, we can learn all we need to make our model cars into rusty, junky jewels, with a great deal of realism to boot too.

[Repstock]

Call me a nit-picker, but if you go through the trouble of creating bare or worn metal areas on certain parts of the model (the forks for instance), why not be consistent and do the same for other wear areas, such as the running boards and the step up to the cab area? Surely such a used machine would show wear and tear where the operator's boots rubbed the paint away after daily use, not to mention wear from hands grabbing the roof supports after repeatedly getting into the forklift.

As Dave mentioned earlier, the best weathering is that which goes (mostly) unnoticed, just like it does in real life, so kudos to those who can and do pull it off.

I agree. I had it on my mind at one time to "finish" the weathering, but I was pulled away by the next project. There's always a next project that calls me before I finish the current one.

[Dr. Cranky]

Tom, sometimes that's the best thing that can happen, give it a little time to sit there an you never know. That's how I came upon the idea of turning this one into a bullseye Impala:

[Dr. Cranky]

Here's someone who builds weathered subjects as both stand alone builds and dioramas, and he exercises a very deliberate but subtle hand when it comes to weathering.

[Guest Dr. Odyssey]

Cool!

[Keef]

Tom, sometimes that's the best thing that can happen, give it a little time to sit there an you never know. That's how I came upon the idea of turning this one into a bullseye Impala:

that motor must have been turning some serious RPM's to sling all 8 pistons straight up thru the cylinder heads like that

Edited February 13, 2012 by Keef

[SuperStockAndy]

that motor must have been turning some serious RPM's to sling all 8 pistons straight up thru the cylinder heads like that

Not to knock on the model(because it still looks awesome), but the cylinder bores are small as well

Edited February 13, 2012 by SuperStockAndy

[Guest Dr. Odyssey]

Not to knock on the model(because it still looks awesome), but the cylinder bores are small as well

Now that is humorus.  If it doesn't exist, how can it be wrong?

[deja-view]

Aren't we talking about the diffeence between "weathering" and "driven"?

[Harry P.]

Aren't we talking about the diffeence between "weathering" and "driven"?

But whenever a car is driven, it's subject to weathering. They're interconnected.

[Dr. Cranky]

True, Harry. Whenever a car is drive, it gets "mildly" weathered, over a period of years, it get's beaten, and once abandoned, it becomes NATURALIZED! LOL!

[Foxer]

"bullseye Impala:"

.. now that REALLY cracked me up, Cranky!

[Dr. Cranky]

Thanks, Mike. These builds are never meant to be accurate, but just lots of fun. I guess I come from the school of if-it-feels-like-it's-fun, and it-feels-like-it's-fun, then keep having fun. Something like that.

[Guest Dr. Odyssey]

These builds are never meant to be accurate,

OK...LOL

[Dr. Cranky]

Here's an example of a model I am very lucky to have in my collection, courtesy of one Jairus Watson. It's a model that flipped my modeling world upside down the first time I laid eyes on it, in part because I had never seen a model like this, that includes all of forms of weathering, scratch-building, and imagineering . . . not to mention a skeleton driver with a cigarette in its mouth.

Everything about this build represents some sort of mild (or wild) weathering, including the unbelievable work that went into the engine.

[Dr. Cranky]

Not all builds are going to call for extreme weathering, sure . . . this one started with this:

Again, something I was seeing for the first time:

And it captured my imagination, so I decided to build it not as a replica but as a tribute to something else that captured my imagination, which included having one of these handy, PE spider webbing . . .

And some skulls . . .

Turns out it ended up being one of the milder weathering jobs I've done in a long time, but still lots of fun:

[Dr. Cranky]

Case in point? We all strive to build--shiney or otherwise--models that really push the limits of our skills, that challenge us, but also delights us and perhaps give the viewer something they haven't see before.